The Korea Herald

Bangkok property boom on the rise

A 77-storey skyscraper is set to become the latest, and tallest, addition to Bangkok’s ever-changing skyline, already transformed by a construction boom that has raised fears of a property bubble.Variously described on Internet forums as looking “like it has been eaten by giant termites” and reflect

IndustryAug. 1, 2011

Apple seeks to block Samsung Electronics from selling tablet in Australia

Apple Inc. escalated its legal dispute against Samsung Electronics Co. by requesting an Australian court to block the South Korean company from selling the newest version of its tablet computer in the country. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringes 10 Apple patents, including the “look and feel,” and

TechnologyAug. 1, 2011

Apple seeks to block Samsung Electronics from selling tablet in Australia

Children being treated for anorexia

Children as young as five are receiving treatment for eating disorders, according to data from the British National Health Service.In past three years, 98 children between the age of five and seven were hospitalized for anorexia, while another 99 youngsters between eight and nine visited specialists

TechnologyAug. 1, 2011

Chewing more helps weight loss: research

Chewing food more helps people consume less food and lose weight, a new study has shown.According to researchers from Harbin Medical University in China, those who chewed food 40 times consumed about 12 percent less calories than those who chewed only 15 times.The study is posted on the latest versi

TechnologyAug. 1, 2011

Electronic microchips added to hotel towels to ban snatching

Electronic microchips added to hotel towels to ban snatchingAn American linen company has introduced new towels and robes equipped with electronic chips for hotels in order to prevent guests from taking them home.Linen Tracking Technology, a firm based in Miami, launched the new products attached with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags under association with Fluensee, another technology fi

TechnologyAug. 1, 2011

S. Korea's consumer prices jump 4.7 percent in July

South Korea's consumer prices jumped at a faster pace in July, raising concerns that inflationary pressure is building up despite the government's anti-inflation efforts, a report showed Monday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, the country's consumer price index rose 4.7 percent last mont

Aug. 1, 2011

Korean won’s steep rise feared to hurt exporters

The Korean government is set to face an uphill battle in keeping the Korean won from appreciating at a rapid clip as the U.S. debt crisis is sending ripples throughout financial markets across the world.“The local currency could gain to the 1,000 won level against the greenback by the end of the year,” said Huh In, an international finance analyst at the state-run Korea Institute for International

July 31, 2011

Change expected at Samsung to beat Apple, other rivals

Samsung is not a company used to being No. 2 in anything it does, but it appears to be falling behind in preparing for changing business surroundings. At least, this is the case according to Samsung owner Lee Kun-hee who last week publicly castigated his company ― albeit indirectly ― by saying Samsung needs to get going in terms of attaining “soft (ware) power, first-caliber human resources and pa

IndustryJuly 31, 2011

Change expected at Samsung to beat Apple, other rivals

Yeosu Expo courts more than 45,000 volunteers

Public participation in the upcoming expo in Yeosu is picking up steam as more than 45,000 have applied to volunteer, its steering committee said Sunday.The committee said it had accepted applications between April 1 and July 10 for volunteer work at the event, which will kick off May 12 in Korea’s southern port. Only 13,000 will be selected in April after document examinations, interviews and onl

IndustryJuly 31, 2011

Choco-Pie building ‘Pie Road’

This is the first installment in a series that spotlights Korean products enjoyed by people abroad. ― Ed. Choco-Pie, the flagship brand of local snack maker Orion Corp., is often called a “little giant” here.It is a small round chocolate pie with a marshmallow center, which is 7 centimeters in diameter and weighs about 35 grams.Since 1974, the Choco-Pie has been enjoyed by every age group of Korea

IndustryJuly 31, 2011

Joint venture lifts Korea’s Bolivian lithium bid

A Korean consortium forged an agreement with Bolivia’s state-run miner Comibol on Saturday to set up a joint venture to manufacture lithium-ion battery parts, boosting Korea’s bid to preemptively tap the vast Latin American mineral deposits.Under the deal, the Korea Resources Corp., POSCO and Comibol will form a task force next month or so to discuss details, a KORES official said. The scale of in

IndustryJuly 31, 2011

Joint venture lifts Korea’s Bolivian lithium bid

Growth takes a backseat before presidential vote: Morgan Stanley

With the presidential election slated for December 2012, the Korean administration is likely to focus on firmer fiscal policy and welfare promotions rather than growth-oriented measures in a bid to appease the low-to-mid-income group, Morgan Stanley said. In a new research report titled “2012 Election Year: Market Implications,” Morgan Stanley forecast that the Korean government will not go for an

July 31, 2011

Korea to host insurance regulators’ meeting

FSS predicts about 200 officials to gather in Seoul in late SeptemberKorea’s financial authorities are making their dispositions as the chair of one of the world’s three major regulatory meetings, slated for Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Seoul. This is the first time that the nation will host the annual conference of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, which will mark the 18th gathering s

July 31, 2011

Nissan to battle German carmakers in Korea

Japanese automaker introduces new models to attract consumersNissan is set to wage a sales battles with German automakers in Korea by aggressively marketing its Infiniti series and the Cube, a characteristic box-like model.The second-largest automaker in Japan has set the goal of making the Infiniti series become one of the top three import brands in the premium luxury segment.“We are mapping out

MobilityJuly 31, 2011

Nissan to battle German carmakers in Korea

Mahindra sees India’s 1st cult brand aided by Ssangyong

The Actyon of Ssangyong Motor Co.At Ssangyong Motor Co., South Korea’s third-largest maker of sport utility vehicles, just about everything that could go wrong did in the past two decades. The company switched owners four times, faced bankruptcy and suffered one of the most violent strikes in modern Korean history in 2009. Workers in that clash took control of a plant for almost three months, usin

MobilityJuly 31, 2011

HSBC to cut more than 10,000 jobs

LONDON (AFP) ― Global banking giant HSBC will announce this week plans to axe between 10,000 and 15,000 jobs in the coming year as part of a drastic cost-cutting drive, a report said Saturday.The bank, headquartered in London but with a major focus on Asia, will unveil the job cuts on Monday as it posts its half-year results, Britain’s Sky News television reported, without citing its sources. The

IndustryJuly 31, 2011

Israelis protest high cost of living

JERUSALEM (AP) ― Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets nationwide on Saturday to protest rising housing prices in the largest turnout in a grass-roots movement that began two weeks ago and is demanding steps from the government to ease the burden.The protests over housing costs have tapped into wider discontent among Israelis over the high cost of living and the growing gaps between ri

IndustryJuly 31, 2011

GM, Ford, Toyota accept Obama’s efficiency standard

Automakers agreed to double the fuel economy of the vehicles they sell in the U.S. to a fleetwide average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, President Barack Obama said. The White House negotiated the proposal, which will take effect in 2017, with automakers including General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. The administration proposed a 56.2 mpg requirement last month, up from a f

IndustryJuly 31, 2011

GM, Ford, Toyota accept Obama’s efficiency standard

Moody’s says U.S. should retain top rating

Moody’s says it now thinks U.S. will be able to keep ‘AAA’ ratingWASHINGTON (AP) ― Moody’s Investors Service said late Friday that the United States should be able to keep its “AAA” credit rating as long as Washington works out a deal that lets it continue to pay bondholders.The credit rating agency said it thinks that even if the nation’s $14.3 trillion borrowing limit isn’t raised by Tuesday’s d

IndustryJuly 31, 2011

Kang named Hanwha Investment CEO

Kang Shin-woo, chief investment officer of Korea Investment Management, has been designated as the first CEO of the merged entity between Hanwha Investment Trust Manager and Prudential Asset Management.With the appointment of the 50-year-old fund manager, Hanwha Investment is poised to revamp its management structure and has set the goal of becoming the nation’s No. 1 asset management player. Kang

July 31, 2011